NEKO EARNS FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR AT 2006 PLUG INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS

Word is spreading on Neko Case’s first new studio album in nearly four years. The LA Times recently highlighted it as one of the most anticipated releases of 2006, declaring ‘[Case’s] emotional vocals were the best thing about the New Pornographers' "Twin Cinema" CD last year, and her first album in almost four years is an ambitious take on some resonant fairy tales and folk stories." Likewise an early review in Bust magazine proclaimed "Neko Case may well be a person, but on stage and on record she's a force of nature,” and a forthcoming cover story in Harp magazine calls ‘Fox Confessor’ “mesmerizing” noting “though many tracks are thickly layered ... the core initial spark remained. Rather than growing cluttered, the songs became more luminous.”

Earlier this week, Pitchfork revealed that Case will launch a national tour following the release of ‘Fox Confessor.’ The tour will kick off with a headlining performance at the Billions Booking SXSW showcase at Antone’s in Austin, TX, March 17, and will find Neko playing her largest venues to date in several markets, including two nights at teh 1400-seat Webster Hall in NYC, April 6 and 7.

And last night, Neko earned Female Vocalist of the Year honors at the annual PLUG Independent Music Awards, held at Webster Hall in New York City. The PLUG Awards are organized and voted on annually by a collection of music lovers - writers, DJs, webmasters, bloggers, artists, filmmakers, managers, indie retailers, and most importantly fans - who champion independent artists. There’s more information on the awards at http://www.plugawards.com.